Read a real book and turn the gadget off.
I find it hard to believe that it’s only now, with the rise in digital books and the portable readers so you can carry half a book shop around with you that some people are picking up books and reading more, what was wrong with picking up a book before, is it really that hard to do.
They are not books your reading, but well formatted Word documents. A book is a real thing it has a physical presence that a digital version cannot match. Pick up a new book and see how it feels, the weight, the smell the noise the spine makes when you first open it and the gentle whisper of the pages as you turn them. It is something unique something that you might have waited for, saved for and the anticipation you get when waiting to pay for it can be very intense. Buying a new book can be a very memorable, where did you buy The Deathly Hallows on the day of release? I was in Waterstones standing in a large queue trying not to hear what people were saying as they were talking about the book and I wanted to read it and not hear the story in little bits from the people who read it while waiting to pay.
Some people wont have that feeling now they’re answer will be merely “in my bedroom, living room, toilet etc.” this is not how books where meant to be bought or worse downloaded illegally. Writers put a lot of time and effort into writing a book whether it’s a another book in a series or a new title entirely it should not be reduced to another file type on a computer somewhere. It should be picked up, held, enjoyed. Take pride in how far you have read in one sitting in how many pages are currently between you thumb and fingers of your left hand, this to me is what reading is all about, not having some device in my hands that I’ve had to pay far to much for to then have to pay for the book as well.
Minimalism has it’s place, it even has a place in my life and my home, but not in my library.
Really it all boils down to personal preference, I prefer the feel of a real book and when I’m reading one I don’t want to be interrupted by anything least of all by an alert for an email or tweet. I want to have to go and buy the book form a shop because it helps me decide if I really want the book in the first place the same is true about any form of media that I buy. However if you are comfortable with your device of choice then by all means use and enjoy the books you read just remember you can’t get a digital first edition and treasure it.
